Coby White scored 28 points and No. 5 North Carolina held off host Clemson 81-79 on Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum in a game in which longtime North Carolina coach Roy Williams collapsed and did not return.

Williams, 68, dropped to one knee in front of the Tar Heels' bench with 55 seconds left in the first half and was assisted from the court by medical personnel. An update on Williams' condition was expected soon after the game.

White, a freshman guard, connected on 9-of-16 shots from the floor, including 6-of-11 from three-point range. White was coming off a career-high 34 points in a win against Syracuse.

Clemson, which got 24 points from senior guard Marcquise Reed, slipped to 17-12, 7-9 ACC and took another hit to its chances of returning to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year.

Sophomore guard Clyde Trapp scored 15 points and senior forward Elijah Thomas had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Clemson, which lost to North Carolina for the 11th time in their last 12 meetings and 21st time in their last 23 games.

Despite playing without senior forward David Skara, its top defensive player who missed the game with an upper-body injury, Clemson kept the game close throughout.

Clemson led for much of the first half and was ahead by six points with 10:26 left in the half at 25-19, and had a 33-29 lead with 2:07 left before the Tar Heels closed the half on a 10-2 run for a 39-35 halftime lead.

The Tigers led 57-56 with 8:18 left before North Carolina went on a 14-6 run to pull ahead 70-63, but things got tight down the stretch again.

Clemson pulled within 78-77 on a pair of Trapp free throws with 18 seconds left, but Kenny Williams made three of four free throws in the final 12.7 seconds to keep the Tigers at bay.